The present invention relates to earth retaining systems and, more particularly, to a one-step sheet pile retaining wall system not requiring temporary shoring.
Current earth retaining systems designed to accommodate significant embankment widening, particularly along existing roadway where traffic will be running adjacent to the work, require massive quantities of excavation and the utilization of select rock/aggregate backfill as well as the need for costly and time-consuming temporary shoring.
Specifically, current earth retaining systems associated with embankment widening involve a two-stage process: (1) temporary shoring installation and (2) then wall construction. Such systems typically include a MSE wall, T-Wall, reinforced concrete cantilever wall, or soldier beam and lagging wall (with regard to providing a platform of sufficient width from which to drill/construct the soldier beam and lagging wall).
Temporary shoring can be problematic when retaining an embankment for doing construction along the top of the embankment, such as for widening of a highway. For instance, since the temporary typically-vertical shoring would often extend well below the level of the highway, such effort in installing the temporary vertical shoring adds not only time to the construction process, but also might inadvertently result in the demolition of elements of the highway not marked for construction, such as previously-installed storm drainage piping, just for the sake of installing the temporary shoring. Also, the presence of the temporary shoring raises the possibility of its failure or movement, whereby such not-marked-for construction elements including the adjacent roadway surface being traveled on by the general public are damaged, or worse yet, rendered unsafe.
As can be seen, there is a need for a one-step sheet pile retaining wall system not requiring temporary shoring yet adapted to accommodate significant embankment widening along existing roadway where traffic will be running adjacent to the work area. The one-step sheet pile retaining wall system embodied herein provides an outer row of sheet piles that constitutes the wall portion of the structure with perpendicular sheets comprising fins connected to the outer sheets via three-way connectors along the length of the wall. The sheet pile retaining wall for all practical purposes would be built without the need for massive quantities of excavation, select rock/aggregate backfill, or temporary shoring.
The present invention reduces the earth retaining process to only one stage, i.e., the actual construction of the wall. This one step approach, ideally, results in the realization of significant time savings in addition to the cost reductions, assuming sheets can be driven to the required depth without too much difficulty. If deemed advantageous to shorten the overall time required for sheet pile installation, driving shoes could be used to help in this regard.